Chương 7: The Year is 2006

When she woke the next morning, Olivia was still in the past. It was heartbreaking, of course, but not entirely unexpected. Especially since it wasn't the first time she'd woken up. Motherly instinct had drawn her out of unconsciousness periodically throughout the night to check on Hazel, only to realize each time that her baby girl wasn't there. Each time, it was a fresh knife to the gut. One that bled into the dreams that eventually found her. Needless to say, she hadn't slept well.

Regardless of her exhaustion, however, there came a point early in the morning where continuing to sleep simply became an impossibility. Rubbing at her face, Olivia dragged herself out of bed. She wasn't entirely willing to leave her room yet and make her wakefulness public. But if she was going to be awake anyway, then at least she could do something productive with all of this anxious energy. She stumbled over to her closet, still yawning as she began to rifle through the clothes hanging within.

Her hands pushed them to one side or the other, separating the usable ones from those she deemed beyond saving. The resulting collection of outfits was underwhelming, to say the least. The effort did manage to unearth a bit of athletic wear in the form of basic white shirts and basketball shorts that remained as unflattering as everything else. Taken together, it would get her through the week. I could go out and get more. But do I really want to?

Expressing an interest in clothes shopping alone wouldn't just be suspicious—it would be insane. Something like that may well get her accused of being a skinwalker. And that was even assuming she wanted to go. Given that she'd likely have to pick up more clothing that matched her current wardrobe, it wasn't nearly as appealing as one might have expected. Cringing at the mere thought, Olivia discarded the idea for now and turned to the rest of her room.

She idly began organizing the mess of papers and notebooks on her desk until its surface became visible once more. The plans she'd spent most of the previous day poring over slid into a spare folder and were quietly stowed away in the back corner of her closet, beneath a few unopened model figurine boxes. Not that she was particularly worried about them being discovered. Her parents weren't ones to dig through her room. After finishing up, Olivia put her hands on her hips and looked around with satisfaction.

Nice and tidy. The place hadn't been overly messy before, but now it felt far more put together. She'd even picked up a few scattered plushes and books lying haphazardly on the floor. Sighing, she rolled her shoulders and checked the time. It's still so early… What else can I do without making too much noise? There was always the option of adding more entries to her list of future events. It needed to be done anyway.

But the lingering vestiges of her nightmares made thinking about her own personal situation particularly unappealing. Besides, with how much progress she'd made the day before Olivia felt as though she deserved a bit of a break. Maybe… I could work out? The memory of struggling to lift a few paltry grocery bags caused her lips to purse. With only a moment's hesitation, she lowered herself to the ground for some pushups. Fitness had never been a particular priority of hers.

Heck, she hadn't really started working out until after having George, despite Jason's constant efforts to get her to the gym. But being able to toss her kids into the air well into their toddler years proved no small motivator. It only took a moment to remember just how far she'd come since then. Her attempt to do "pushups" quickly dialed back to "a singular pushup," then finally to pressing herself up off the edge of her bed while her feet remained on the floor. The concession left her a little embarrassed.

At least situps and squats were easier, though she lacked any weights to do them with. That's fine. I'm not trying to get jacked, here. Just a little more fit, for quality of life reasons. By the time she'd finished, Olivia was more than ready for a shower. After finally getting ready for the day, she marched downstairs and claimed a container of cold orange chicken from the fridge. Then, with her dad busy in the yard and her mom's footsteps creaking above, she settled in at the computer.

It was time to really get herself oriented to this new reality. Tapping at the keyboard, Olivia pulled up Oogle and was greeted with another relic of ages long past—the internet speed. It took a few seconds for the search engine to pull up, a far cry from the instant feedback she'd grown accustomed to. But when the page loaded to greet her with all of its nostalgic clutter, she began to search. The name of the current president, local news, the names of the latest game consoles…

All of the details, big and small, that came together to compose the culture of 2006. A culture that she was certain to be quizzed on by her peers come the first day of school. Some current events she had a vague recollection of, but there were plenty more that Olivia had trouble placing precisely in the timeline. And if she wanted to avoid seeming entirely oblivious—or worse, accidentally letting her future knowledge slip—that was definitely something that needed addressing.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Of course, I wasn't exactly interested in politics or anything like that before. Heck, I barely kept up on pop culture stuff. But it doesn't hurt to learn. And learn she did. One of the first things she discovered was that smartphones definitely didn't exist yet. The term didn't yield anything remotely close to the devices she knew, and the first APhone hadn't even been announced yet.

Many of the websites she frequented also sported entirely different appearances, such as the video hosting platform YouVee and Oogle's search engine itself. The landscape of popular message boards and ways to communicate online brought up some older names that had since faded into obscurity, as most had been long since supplanted by other, newer options. Social media, however, was another story.

The concept was still relatively new in this day and age, and most of the cultural mainstays were just beginning their ascent. FriendList was already well on its way to becoming a complete juggernaut. Chirper had also launched just a few months earlier, too. Neither seemed like they'd seized a permanent place in the public consciousness yet, but Olivia recalled that they were pretty much inescapable by the time she'd hit senior year.

She'd never really liked social media and more or less avoided it, but even she'd seen the value in making an account just to keep up with events and the like. Something she wasn't entirely looking forward to now, given all of the privacy issues that would definitely still come up in the future. But the platform hadn't become a central fixture of student life quite yet. … Which also means that Jason hasn't made an account, either. Not that he ever really posted anything. He used social media even less than I did.

It was honestly a bit of a blessing in disguise, since it would help her to keep from cyberstalking her future husband like a creep. At the same time, it just added another brick to the ever-growing wall isolating her from her family.

"Gooood morning, sweetie! How are you doing?" Olivia nearly jumped as her mom swept around the corner. The woman wore a far more casual outfit today—casual by her standards, at least. A button down designer blouse and pressed tan slacks wasn't exactly everyday wear for most, but Olivia was used to it by this point.

"Hey!" Oliva let the tension seep from her posture.

"Pretty good. Even better since I snagged some orange chicken for breakfast." Her mom chuckled, eyeing the empty container.

"Goodness. Did you even heat it up?"

"Takeout's better cold. At least, I think so."

"Well, I can't fault you for efficiency. What are you up to this fine morning? More gaming like usual?" Before Olivia could react, the woman was beside her and peering at the screen. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"FriendList? What's that?" Olivia silently kicked herself for not minimizing the tab sooner.

"Nothing. Just browsing a bit, that's all.""'Connect and share with people, no matter how far…'" Her mom read off the screen.

"Is this some site where you talk to people online? You know how I feel about things like that, Olivia."

"I know, I know. I'm not planning on actually using it," she admitted honestly.

"I just heard about it and wanted to look into it a bit. Though it is meant more to talk with people you already know in real life."

"Hmm. Well, even so," her mom crossed her arms.

"You'd best tell your father or I before you start talking to anyone online, friend or not. Though I suppose I should be glad you're taking an interest in something besides those games of yours." Olivia rolled her eyes. She certainly didn't disagree with her mom. Heck, she'd done much the same with her kids. But she'd been way less heavy-handed about it. At least I was a bit more wise to the loopholes and workarounds than my own mom was.

I really can't believe she didn't think to check if those games had online chats. Suddenly, her mom straightened and clapped her hands together.

"Well! Ready to go?"

"Really? Is it time already?" Olivia glanced at the corner of the screen. Apparently, she'd had a busier morning than expected.

"Indeed it is! Your father should be finishing up as well, so let's get moving! Chop chop!" Olivia smiled.

"We don't need to rush that much, you know. The movie doesn't start until one."

"Livi, dear. You're forgetting about lunch!" Her mom waggled a finger.

"Lunch? We're getting lunch, too?"

"But of course! It's your last day of vacation. Surely we need to celebrate with more than just a simple movie!" Olivia shook her head with amusement. She should have expected as much. Still, for once she didn't mind. Pushing back from the computer, she grabbed the now empty container of orange chicken. It had just made it into the trash when her dad came inside, his shirt damp with sweat from working in the yard.

"Hey, sweetie!" He spread his arms wide with a grin.

"Want a hug?" Olivia darted back with a laugh. Her dad shifted his attention to his wife, who stiff-armed him.

"Oh, no you don't! You, sir, are headed straight for the shower—and make it quick! We have places to be!" With a final laugh, her dad hurried upstairs and reappeared moments later with wet hair and fresh clothes. Then, the trio all bundled together in the white sedan. The day before, her dad had asked what Olivia wanted to do with her last day of vacation. And as much as going back in time had taken away, there were a few upsides hidden within its silver lining.

The idea of spending time with her parents, together, as a complete family again… That wasn't something she could do everyday. Was it worth the trade? No. Of course not. But it also wasn't an opportunity she would squander. Especially not when she knew it was all too temporary. Olivia smiled at the two figures seated in front of her, looking forward to the rest of the day as they left the house behind.